The present invention relates to an assembly for anchoring a slender object such as a length of pipe to a generally rigid structural support member of, for example, a railroad car.
Pipe anchors are used in railroad cars to secure air lines and other pipes to structural members of the cars. At times during the useful existence of a car it may be necessary to remove and replace a pipe held by such an anchor. Releasing a pipe from previously known pipe anchors often resulted in needing to cut away a base portion of a pipe anchor from the railroad car because of failure of a portion of the base member bent to release the pipe.
Not only is replacement of the base portion of a pipe anchor time-consuming, but the base portion is often of relatively costly forged construction.
What is desired, then, is a support assembly such as a pipe anchor for attaching a pipe or other slender elongate objects to supporting structures and which permits a pipe or other article to be removed from the supporting structure and replaced numerous times without having to cut a base of the assembly free from a structural member to which it might be welded. It is also desired to provide a pipe anchor incorporating a structure that may be manufactured at a relatively low cost.